But in the two and a half decades that have
since passed, the landscape of web design has undergone massive changes, transforming from the pixelated images and bright
background colours that characterised the 90s, to the slick, minimalist layouts
of today.

In part 3 of this history series, we look
at the most significant milestones in web design.

Early 1990s

Suffice to say that during this time, the
Internet, being in its infancy, still operated at dial-up speeds.

As nostalgic as the sound of a screeching
modem is for many tech heads, these were boring times for web design, with web
pages dominated by walls of text. The idea of a design layout didn’t even
exist.

And even
as the rise of HTML allowed for more complex designs, things were still very basic, with designs limited to
headers, links, and paragraphs.

Mid 1990s

In 1994,
the World Wide Web
Consortium was formed and set HTML as the standard language for writing web
pages. This would help prevent the monopolisation of a programming language by
a browser maker, which would’ve crippled the Internet’s growth.

During
this time, web designers gravitated towards table-based layouts to organize
content. Of course, websites still depended heavily on text, but designers
could now manipulate text content into rows, columns, and other elements.

The introduction
of Flash would also open a new world of design opportunities not possible
with HTML. For the first time ever, designers could create virtual graphics
that users could interact with.

Early 2000s

The early 2000s saw the rise of CSS
support, allowing for a distinct line between content and design. This meant
that content developers and web designers could now work independently.
Websites were also simpler to code, and thus easier to maintain and faster to
load.

It didn’t hurt that Internet speeds also
became faster. The abandonment of Kitschy graphics and GIFs also meant that
white space was the new “in” thing. Links were also embedded in icons rather
than just text. All these led to a growing appreciation for webusability.

Mid to Late 2000s

Enter Web 2.0.

The rise of interactive content, multimedia
apps, and social media are just a few of the defining features of this era. Aesthetic
trends were rooted in icon use, typography, and a deeper integration between
content and graphic design.

This period was also marked by the decline
of clunky Flash and the rise of SEO. For the first time, designers were
designing with users in mind.

Today

Making a website user-friendly and
marketable meant it had to be visually appealing. And in today’s world, that
meant flat graphics, minimalist layouts, slick typography, and large, beautiful
images.

In addition, the advent of mobile is
perhaps the single biggest factor that influenced modern web design. This meant
that designers needed to make web
pages with less clutter to ensure they were easier to navigate, not to mention,
faster to load.

Above all, modern web design has been about
pushing about one thing: content. Every design element serves to deliver
content to the user in the most efficient and effective way possible, paving
way for best practices such as accessibility, usability, and adaptability.

These milestones in web design are at the
heart of our business here at Smartbag. They allow us to use Internet
technologies to deliver our line of custom packaging solutions online. To learn
more about our custom printed bags and reusable shopping bags, get in touch
with the Smartbag team on our Contact
Page.